As I prayed the Collect for Pentecost at the 8 o'clock service it began to dawn on me how apt is was that this was the send-off day for my Sabbatical:
Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
In the next three months I will represent St. Gregory's in four nations: Wales, England, France, and Madagascar. And although Madagascar may not qualify literally as "the ends of the earth," it is 9,379 miles east of Deerfield!
So my daily prayer while on Sabbatical will be the Collect for Pentecost, omitting only on this day.
And then, at the Nine O' Clock service, Dale Nichols introduced the choir's anthem, Hymn 349, as arranged by Jim Collins and based on the tune Aberystwythby Joseph Parry. I could hardly believe my ears, because Joseph Parry was a Welsh composer, and the tune is named for a town on the west coast of Wales, located at the mouth (Aber in Welsh) of the Ystwyth River!
In fact, I will be spending three nights in Aberystwyth in order to attend a full Sunday of worship in the Welsh-speaking parish church of Eglwys y Santes Fair-- the Church of St. Mary.
And the world's expert on Joseph Parry is Dulais Rhys, my Welsh friend who visited St. Gregory's several summers ago while on a tour to commemorate the Welsh composer. Dulais and his wife Leigh will be my hosts for eight of my days in Wales.
The Sabbatical Committee's delightful and delicious Ice Cream Social (complete with fresh bananas and strawberries and sprinkles and whipped cream!) for Ingrid and me was great fun, and we were surprised with appropriate peripatetic presents: a brown leather writing journal for me; a matching Butterflies Journal with matching pen for Ingrid; a magnetic bookmark featuring a Monarch Butterfly and the word "Believe"; a Wallet Magnifier to read the small print of maps (or to light a fire in the Rain Forests of Madagascar?); and two of the "legendary" Moleskine notebooks used by Hemingway, Picasso, and Chatwin.
As the day began in prayer, so it ended in prayer when David Schaper offered this prayer For Travelers during the Ice Cream Social:
O God our heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole creation, and whose presence we find wherever we go: Preserve those who travel [in particular Bill and Ingrid]; surround them with your loving care; protect them from every danger; and bring them in safety to their journey's end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
As we pray the Collect for Pentecost each day, Ingrid and I hope you will offer this prayer for us, which you can find at the top of page 831 in The Book of Common Prayer 1979.
I have prayed that prayer for many others; it was moving to hear it prayed for Ingrid and me.
As we are in your prayers, you are in ours.
I'm so happy that we'll be able to read about your summer adventures! That will be great fun. You will be missed by all of us, Bill. I'm praying that you come back to us feeling re-invigorated, refreshed and ready for new challenges.
Love to you ...
Jim
Posted by: Jim Collins | June 07, 2009 at 07:09 PM